Friends and Enemies—Object of Gathering—Babylon to Be Forsaken—Prayer—Personality of the Godhead

Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, April 6, 1873.

Reported by David W. Evans.

In my remarks to you I want your eyes, ears, attention and faith. This
is the Forty-third Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, and we have assembled together for the purpose of
being benefited. We like to see and hear each other, we like to give
and receive counsel, and we like, above all things, to enjoy the
Spirit of the Lord. In singing, praying, speaking and hearing, and in
all duties devolving upon us upon such occasions as this, the Spirit
of the Lord is the best of all.

I have a great many reflections with regard to the Latter-day Saints
and the work in which they are engaged. I have many reflections in
regard to the world of mankind. We all enjoy the power of sight, but
how differently we look at and comprehend things! And we are very much
like the people who have lived before us. We are a strange and curious
composition—no two alike. Of all the faces before me this afternoon
there are no two alike. We might possibly find those whose judgment
would be pretty much alike on various subjects, still there are no two
whose judgments are precisely the same. Human life is a great stage,
and it contains a very great
variety of scenes and scenery, of
thought and of action. Some are not very beautiful, others are, and
they are painted with fine colors. We see all this before us, and each
and every person has the privilege of judging for himself, and upon
each different impressions are produced.

I see a large congregation before me this afternoon of people called
Latter-day Saints. If the world of mankind were to give their opinion
concerning us they would use terms I heard frequently this
morning—“enemy,” “enemies,” “our enemies.” These expressions would be
frequently heard from the inhabitants of the earth about the
Latter-day Saints, for the impression has existed and has been growing
stronger for years past, that this strange people—the Latter-day
Saints—are the enemies of mankind. I do not wish to convey the idea
that all the inhabitants of the earth consider this people their
enemies, but there are those who wish to have this impression or
belief prevail. I hear many of the Elders of Israel refer to the
outside world as enemies. I do it myself at certain times and on
certain occasions, for certain deeds wrought by those who wish to
destroy the truth from the earth, for every person who would uproot
the truth of God is mine enemy, he would destroy me if he had the
power. What shall we say of those who desire peace and whose hearts
are filled with good will towards their fellow men? We say peace to
such persons, and give them ours and God's blessing.

Who is the enemy of mankind? He who wishes to change truth for error
and light for darkness; he who wishes to take peace from a family,
city, state or nation and give the sword in return. He is my enemy, he
is your enemy and the enemy of mankind. Who is the friend of mankind?
He who makes peace between those who are at enmity, who brings
together those who, perhaps, through some misunderstanding, have been
at variance with and lost friendship and fellowship for each other,
and shows them that their ill-will is without foundation and existed
simply because they did not understand each other. To illustrate, we
will suppose that two men come in the same car to this city. One of
them is full of deception and carries false colors. If he speaks a
word that would become a gentleman, it is not because he feels it,
for in his heart he is cursing and damning, and his purpose is to sow
discord and enmity among the people in a neighborhood. He delights to
set the members of one family jarring with each other. He will teach
the youth to believe that such or such persons are their enemies and
it is no harm to burn their houses down, to take their horses, cut
their carriages to pieces, to open the gate of their garden or field
and let somebody's cattle in. Such a person is an enemy of mankind.
But the other one is a friend. If he sees his neighbor's gate open, he
shuts it; if cattle are in a neighbor's field, he tells him of the
mischief that is being done. If he sees a fence down, and there is
none of the family to come and put it up, he gets out of his carriage,
or off his horse, or if he is afoot, he steps to the fence, turns the
cattle out, puts up the fence or shuts the gate and prevents further
mischief on his neighbor's premises. Who is your enemy and mine? He
that teaches language that is unbecoming, that presents falsehood for
truth, that furnishes false premises to build upon instead of true, or
that is full of anger and mischief to his fellow beings. I call
no others enemies, except such characters as I have named. There is no
question that many have done much mischief while in ignorance of what
they were doing. I have no doubt that the soldiers who were commanded
to nail the Savior to the cross did not realize what they were doing.
They treated him as they did the thieves, whom they knew to be worthy
of death; but through prejudice, over-persuasion and much talk by the
priests, Scribes, Pharisees and people, they perhaps supposed they
were doing God's service when they crucified Jesus. But it was an
enemy that did it, it was a bad act, a very heinous crime, it—but I
pause. The question may be asked, What would have been the consequence
suppose the Savior had not been crucified? I can only answer by saying
that he was. The Scriptures say that offenses must needs come, but woe
to him by whom they come. But we will resume our subject. Who is the
man that is an enemy to his nation? The one that breeds mischief,
prompts strife, and brings sorrow among the people.

Now to the Latter-day Saints—What are you here for? Can you answer
this question? Many of you can. One brother says, “Why, I came here to
join the Saints.” “Where did you come from?” “I lived in Scotland. I
worked in the mines, or in the factory, or in iron works.” “What did
you come here for?” “When I heard the Gospel preached I believed it,
and I received a desire to leave my neighbors. I believed the Bible
and the Book of Mormon; I believed that Joseph Smith was a Prophet. My
neighbors said, ‘Oh folly, oh fool. There goes a Mormon,’ and they
pointed the finger of scorn at me.” This is the spirit of the world,
but if there had been no persecution whatever in the feelings of his
neighbors, he would have had a desire to leave his home and old
associates to join the Saints, for the Spirit he received prompted him
to do this. Ask a sister, “What are you here for?” “Why, I came here
so that I could live my religion a little better than I could in
Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, France, Scandinavia,” or wherever
it might be that she came from. Ask another man, “What did you gather
to these mountains for?” “Well, I think I came here because of my
religion. I used to think I wanted to gather up with the Saints. I
liked their society, and when I came up here I really delighted to be
with them.” “What are you doing now, brother?” “Well, I am trying to
do about the best I possibly can. Here are a few dollars I want to pay
on Tithing.” “Have you paid your Tithing this year?” “No.” “Did you
pay it last year?” “No.” “Have you not paid Tithing lately?” “No.”
“What is the reason?” “Why, I am after gold and silver, and the riches
in these mountains, in this trade, I am after the world, I am after
Babylon.” This is the conduct. I do not ask for words, I do not ask
anybody to get up and declare that their affections are turned away
from the holy Gospel of life and salvation, and turned to the world.
Let me see their daily walk and know their life, and I know what their
thoughts and feelings are. And the sister that comes here for the
Gospel's sake, her mind is so frivolous and easily wrought upon that
she is led by every wind and breeze of fashion that blows through the
streets here. “Oh, don't you see that lady's dress?” “Here, look here,
did you see that lady walking down the street?” “Yes.” “What a
beautiful dress she has got on! Oh dear, how I want such a dress!” Go
down the street and you can see it; go up the street and you
can see it; go into the workshops, and even into the canyons, and you
can see it. What of it? Latter-day Saints, what of it? “Oh, I do love
Babylon so well.” “I do want a new dress.” “I do want to go into the
mines and dig.” “I have a claim, and I am just going into the
mountains to dig,” says a brother. Another one says, “I have served
the Lord about long enough, and I am going to serve myself now.” This
is the way with one here and another there, and if they have not got
Babylon they want to get it. And here comes along a man who professes
to be a Latter-day Saint, and the first you know he is using the name
of the Deity in vain, and it is “curse” this, and “curse” that, with
the name of our Father in heaven attached to it. Is that according to
the faith that we have embraced? Mingle with the Latter-day Saints,
and see them playing on the stage of life, and watch how some of them
will change their colors and their coats, and some come out in one
fashion and some in another, according to the circumstances in which
they are placed.

Here we are assembled in the capacity of a general Conference. Babylon
is in the hearts of the people, that is to say, there is too much of
it. What did you come here for? “Why,” says one, “I understood they
were getting rich in Utah, and I thought I would gather up with the
Latter-day Saints and get rich also.” Without making many remarks on
this subject, I want to say to every one of those who come up here,
their minds filled with Babylon, and longing for the fashions and
wealth of the world, you may heap up gold and silver, but it will
leave you, or you will leave it, you cannot take it with you, and you
will go down to hell.

Perhaps I may be considered their enemy by some of those called
Latter-day Saints, and by outsiders, for telling them these things.
That is no matter, it is for their life and salvation that I tell
them. If I should see men and women going blindfolded to an awful
precipice, and not hail them and warn them of their danger, I should
be guilty, and perhaps their blood would be found on my skirts. I will
say, at once, not prolonging my remarks or multiplying words, that if
my brethren and sisters do not walk up to the principles of the holy
Gospel of life and salvation, they will be removed out of their
places, and others will be called to occupy them. Elders of Israel,
High Priests, Seventies, High Councilors, Presidents, brethren and
sisters, no matter who, if you have an idea that you are going to take
Babylon—I use this term, because it is well understood that Babylon
means confusion, discord, strife, folly and all the vanities the world
possesses—if you have the idea that you are going to take Babylon in
one hand, and with the other cling to the Savior and drag yourselves
into his presence, you will find yourselves mistaken, for he will drop
you, and you will sink. You may just as well believe this today, and
shape your lives accordingly, as to betray yourselves.

There are a great many who say, “Why, yes, I say my prayers, I do not
use the name of the Lord in vain, I do not injure my neighbor.” That
is true. How many of the Latter-day Saints live like this? I am pretty
well acquainted with them. I see and understand their feelings by
their works, and I can say that a large majority of the Latter-day
Saints are a good, obedi-ent, faithful, Godfearing, God-loving
people, and yet we fellowship those who are full of iniquity and evil,
individuals who are full of the spirit of anti-Christ. I talk and tell
the truth to the good and to the evil, and I wish to comprehend the
whole; and I tell you today that if our minds are not made up to serve
God, if we are not for Christ, and for his kingdom upon the earth; if
we are not willing to devote our time, talents, means, influence and
everything that he has given into our possession, we are not in the
way we should walk. I know that it may be said, and with great
propriety, “Why, my brother, we cannot be sanctified in one day, we
cannot overcome every evil and every passion in one day.” That is
true, but this holy desire can dwell in the heart of every individual
from the time that he or she is convinced that God reigns, that he is
establishing his kingdom on the earth, that Jesus is our Savior, that
the holy Gospel has presented to us the way of life and salvation, and
we believe it and can receive it with our whole hearts—I say we can
have that holy and pure desire from that moment to the end of our
lives, and in possessing this we have faith and favor before the Lord,
and his grace is with us by the power of his Holy Spirit, and by this
we can overcome temptations as we meet them. This is my experience,
that is pretty good proof, is it not? And I have more evidence than
this—this is the experience and testimony of every Latter-day Saint
who has lived his or her religion since obeying the Gospel. Their
testimony will corroborate mine, and strengthen the faith of all.

I have not preached much to you this winter, and I pause and think. I
was in the stone quarry the other day, and saw the men breaking a
large granite rock. They first drilled the holes so as to break the
rock in a direct line. I saw one man take up his hammer and give a
blow. It was too hard. Said I, “My father taught me in my youth that
light knocks would split great blocks. Tap light next time.” The
quarryman did this and pretty soon the rock divided almost as evenly
as though it had been jointed. I wish to make an application of this
to this people assembled here. If I and my brethren had strength, we
would meet together here about one week, to begin with, then go to our
work for a few weeks, and then we would come together again. By
continuing this course, I expect that in about three months we could
get the feelings of this people warmed up like wax before the flame,
so that we could get at their judgment and affections and we could
actually mold them over, and make them realize the work that they are
engaged in. But to do it in one day would be like driving the wedges
so fast that you would split the rock where you would not want it
split. Still, many who want to receive the word can, and I say to all,
you and I must be Latter-day Saints or we are not walking in the path
that God has marked out for us. “What do you mean by that, brother
Brigham? I want to know what you mean by that, I cannot understand
it.” This is the difficulty, but thank kind heaven, I have found out
in my experience, that learning a, b, c, d, does not hinder me
learning e, f, g. I thank my Creator that the principle is implanted
within us, that we can learn, if it takes a long time, and by a close
application of the ability that God has given us, we can improve and
in time become Saints in very
deed. Were it not for this I
should have been discouraged long ago. But, know that we can learn to
be Saints if we are disposed to. Practice your religion today, and
say your prayers faithfully.

Says a brother, “I pray in my family sometimes, and sometimes I do not
feel like it, and I do not pray in my family. Sometimes I am in a
hurry, my work is driving me, my cattle are in mischief, and I do not
feel like praying.”

If I did not feel like praying, and asking my Father in heaven to give
me a morning blessing, and to preserve me and my family and the good
upon the earth through the day, I should say, “Brigham, get down here,
on your knees, bow your body down before the throne of Him who rules
in the heavens, and stay there until you can feel to supplicate at
that throne of grace erected for sinners.”

“Well, but I am in a hurry, and my cattle, perhaps, are in mischief
and my work is driving me.” I should say, if the cattle are in the
corn, “Eat away;” if they are in the wheat, “Eat away, eat the wheat,
we have more than we can use any how;” and if the children are in
mischief and this wants seeing to, and that wants seeing to, I say,
“Kneel down before the Lord and there stay until this body learns
obedience, until my tongue learns to praise his name, and to ask for
the blessings I need.”

“Well, but are you not afraid you will come to want?” Bless me, if I
had all the gold and silver on the earth and no prayers, I should be
in greater want than I should be with the prayers and without the gold
and silver. I will make an application of this with regard to the
feelings of the people. It is true that you and I cannot learn
everything at once, but we can learn one thing at once and the one thing
above all others that we should make it our business to learn is to
yield strict obedience to the requirements of heaven, and we can learn
that today just as well as any other time, and just as well as to
spend a lifetime in doing it.

Now, Latter-day Saints, do you know what you are here for? You know
there is a field opens before us in talking about what we are here
for, why the Lord suffers what we now behold, and why he permits this
and permits that. It is all perfectly reasonable and rational, all
according to his providences and his dealings with the children of
men. I can say to all that you have got to learn this one fact—the
Lord will have a tried people, and if my wife or my daughter cannot
see and pass by, as things of naught, the follies of fashion, she has
not learned her duty, she has not learned the spirit of her religion,
and is not in the full enjoyment of the Spirit of God. Fashions are
nothing to me, one way or the other. How long is it since ladies wore
bonnets into which you would have to look with a spyglass if you
wished to see their faces, and then from their faces to the crown of
the head. From this fashion they got to one in which one flower or
leaf and five yards of ribbon made a complete head dress. What of
these fashions? They are nothing here nor there, and by trying we can
learn to pass by every needless fashion, and to stop the use of every
needless word, and to carry ourselves correctly before the Lord.

Now let us consider, are we for the kingdom of heaven? “Oh yes,” “Oh
yes,” everybody says, “certainly we are.” Are we for happiness? Yes,
certainly, the whole world is with us there. There is no
person
but what would say, Give me power, give me influence, give me wealth,
give me gold and silver, houses and lands, goods and chattels,
tenements, horses, carriages, friends, families, associations, &c. The
whole world will join in saying, Give us heaven and happiness; but
talk to them about “Mormonism,” and they will say, “your doctrine is a
speculation.” The cry with regard to brother Joseph was, “He is a
money digger, he is a speculator.” Well, how long was it before the
whole world was on his track digging money? It was no disgrace just as
soon as the world commenced digging money, but when there were only a
few accused of it, it was a disgrace. How things are changed! How
differently we look upon our bonnets now! If a lady were to enter this
building wearing an old-fashioned headdress everybody would be
looking at her. If a lady were to come into this assembly with sixteen
yards of cloth—I am talking extravagantly now to illustrate—in her two
sleeves, and only four in the waist and skirt of her dress, how
ridiculous it would appear, would it not? And yet something very much
like that was once the fashion.

I look at this and make the application. The world would say, “Yes, if
you are going to have happiness, we want some; if you are going to
have gold and silver, look here, we shall come in for a share.” Very
good, all right. I used to tell the people—bless your heart, you
accuse me of being in a speculation, and so I am. You cry out that the
“Mormon” leaders are for speculation, for money making. We go in for
wealth. I used to tell the people, and I tell them the same now, I do
not go in for a few millions, I go in for the pile, and I calculate to
have it. “How are you going to get it?” By serving God with all my
heart and being a Saint indeed, and when the earth and its fullness
are given into the hands of the Saints, I shall go in for my share—the
whole pile. I used to say, “Why, brother Joseph is the greatest
speculator I have heard of in modern times—he is going to have the
whole earth. Jesus is coming to earth to reign King of nations, and he
is going to share the gold and silver with his brethren. That is not
all—all things are yours for time and eternity—the heights and depths,
the lengths and breadths, crowns of glory and immortality and eternal
lives are yours.” Well, I go in for the pile.

I want to ask, Am I an enemy of mankind? Is a Latter-day Saint an
enemy of mankind? No. I say to the intelligent world, if they did but
know it, we in connection with God, Jesus the Mediator, angels, the
good that are on the earth and the good that have been, are the only
friends of mankind upon the face of the earth. That is a great word to
say, and some may think it is extravagant. They say, “See what our
benevolent societies, our ministers, our kings and our rich people are
doing for the poor, and then say that the Latter-day Saints are the
only friends of mankind.” I want to say to all the world that no good
or benevolent act, no act that sustains innocence, virtue and truth
and does good to the human family will go unrewarded of the Creator.
Do not be discouraged. Have they done any good? Yes, a great deal of
it. The Christian world have sent forth their missionaries and they
have done a great deal of good, but they could do a great deal more if
they had a mind to. They hedge up the way and try to destroy the
little good they have done by instilling into the hearts of the people
the necessity of dwelling in darkness and remaining in
ignorance, and preventing them from receiving the Gospel. This is
their practice, and in this they are doing injury, but they have done
a great deal of good.

What are we hated for? What do men lie about us for, and send forth
their lies to the world right from this place? Are they who do this
the friends of mankind? No, they are their enemies. They plant
falsehood in the hearts of thousands of people. One liar is like a bad
king. A corrupt and wicked king can corrupt a whole nation. One liar
can deceive thousands. They are not the friends of mankind. Why are we
hated? Is our religion obnoxious? Why?

“Because of this one man power, because of the great influence there
is in the midst of the people to unite them together.”

Do you not read in your Bibles that except ye are one ye are not the
Lord's? Do you not read in the Bible, that you have had all your
lives, that you must love God with all your hearts, that you must be
united, that you must receive the Gospel of Christ? Do you not read
that there is but one faith, one Lord, one baptism, one God and Father
of all, &c.? Certainly you do. Well, we believe these things, but does
that prove that we are the enemies of mankind? No, it proves that we
are their friends. Why do we differ from them, and why do they differ
from us? I can tell it in a few words—it is simply because we are
disposed to believe the truth, and they are disposed to reject it.
They are disposed to live and drink water, if they can get it, from
cisterns that will hold no water. Is there anybody, do you think, who
has transgressed the laws of God? Has anybody ever changed the
ordinances of the house of God? Was there ever any such thing done as
to destroy the principles pertaining to the ordinances of the house of
God? Why, yes, in ancient days.

Well, we know the reason why, we know why they did it—they hewed to
themselves cisterns that would hold no water. Do we, as Christians,
teach the Gospel according to Saint Mark, St. John, St. Luke, Matthew,
Paul, Peter and James and the rest of the apostles and the disciples
of the Lord? Do we teach the same doctrine as the Christian world? No,
we do not. Do we teach the same doctrine as Jesus and his Apostles?
Yes, we preach the same Gospel. How many modes of baptism have the
so-called Christian world? I do not know how many. One is by
immersion, or being buried in the water. Another is to get down on
your knees and have water poured on the head; another is to stand up
and have water poured on the head; another is to have somebody dip his
fingers in water and touch the forehead with it; another is to plunge
face foremost, and how many more modes of baptism there are I do not
know. How many there are who say that all these are outward
ordinances and that they are nonessential? Did God ever say this? No.
Jesus? No. Any of the Apostles ever say anything of the kind? No, they
did not. Has any man in modern times received a revelation from
heaven, doing away with the ordinances of the house of God? No, only
false revelations; and we ask the simple question, If our doctrine is
not true, and if there is no necessity for the ordinances of the house
of God, will you not be pleased to tell us the name of the man who
received, and the place where he received a revelation from God doing
away with his own ordinances, and declaring that all miracles were to
cease? &c.
It is true that we differ from the Christian world in
our faith in regard to these things. Does this prove that we are their
enemies? No, it proves that we are their friends. We believe in
doctrines that they do not believe in, and we disbelieve in some
fanciful ideas that they profess to hold as doctrine. For instance
they hold that God is an imaginary being. They cannot tell where nor
how he lives, nor anything concerning his character, whether he is
material or immaterial; but, like many of the most eminent divines,
who have spread it through their pages for the people to read, they
have come to the conclusion that the center of God is everywhere and
his circumference nowhere—one of the most vain ideas that could be
conceived by any intelligent being. Then what is their idea of the
soul of man? That it is an immaterial substance. Who ever heard of
such a thing? Ask any true philosopher if he can explain the meaning
of an “immaterial substance.” It is like the center of a being
everywhere and his circumference nowhere, or like being seated on the
top of a topless throne. These are self-confounding expressions, and
there is no meaning to any of them. We differ from them in our ideas
of God. We know that he is a Being—a man—with all the component parts
of an intelligent being—head, hair, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, cheek
bones, forehead, chin, body, lower limbs; that he eats, drinks, talks,
lives and has a being, and has a residence, and his presence fills
immensity as far as you and I know. We differ with them, for we know
that the Lord has sent forth his laws, commandments and ordinances to
the children of men, and requires them to be strictly obeyed, and we
do not wish to transgress those laws, but to keep them. We do not wish
to change his ordinances, but to observe them; we do not wish to break
the everlasting covenant, but to keep that with our fathers, with
Jesus, with our Father in heaven, with holy angels, and to live
according to them. We differ with them in the tenets of our religion,
we cannot help it. We would not believe “Mormonism,” as it is called,
if it were not for one thing. I never would have believed it if it had
not been for one simple thing. What do you think that is? It is true.
I believed it because of that. What a strange idea! If it had not been
true I would not have believed it, but being true I happened to
believe it.

Now there is quite a difference between me and the man who stands up
to teach the people what he says is the way of life and salvation, and
who has transgressed every law that God ever gave, who has changed
every one of the ordinances of his house, and broken every covenant
that he has made with the children of men. What do you know, Mr.
Divine, about glory, exaltation, happiness and eternal lives? I will
answer for him, and say, nothing at all. What do you know about God?
Nothing at all. What do you know about his dwelling place? Nothing at
all. What about his person? Nothing at all. Pardon me for making these
expressions, but look on this stage which I brought before the
congregation—the human family acting and bringing out what they have
behind the scenes. What a spectacle it presents!

Are we the enemies of mankind? No, we are their only friends, and we
calculate to hang on until we save the last son and daughter of Adam
and Eve that can receive salvation. We calculate to be co-workers with
Jesus, our Savior, until the last man and woman that can be saved is
placed in the kingdom or mansion prepared for them, and none
will be lost or turned away except those who sin against the Holy
Ghost. What do you think of it? An enemy of mankind! Shame on the
expression! And shame on those who give utterance to it when speaking
of the Latter-day Saints. We have the oracles, the law and the
commandments; we have all the laws or ordinances necessary to reach
and take hold of our fathers, mothers, grandfathers and those who have
lived before us, and to bring them up to eternal life. What divine
teaches this doctrine? If there is no resurrection, says Paul, why
then are ye baptized for the dead? It is the only expression that
alludes to the doctrine of baptism for the dead in the New Testament,
but it is true. We have this law, we have the ordi-nances. We have a
knowledge of the covenants necessary to reach and pick up the last man
and woman that has lived on the earth, and we calculate to preach the
Gospel to the living until the line is drawn and Jesus comes to reign
King of nations as he does King of Saints, and the separation is made.
But until then the wheat and the tares will grow together. We are
together now, the wheat and the tares are here.

Now let us see your wheat heads bow down as though you were fully ripe
or preparing to be so, your whole hearts and labors for the kingdom of
God. The wicked may flourish for awhile like a green bay tree, but by
and by they will be cut down, and the righteous will go forth and
inherit the kingdom, which may God grant to be our happy lot for
Jesus' sake. Amen.